Blogs from Bryson City, North Carolina, United States, North America

Friday, September 14 Ken and I slept until 7:30. We relaxed and had our coffee. I did my expense and time reports. We packed up for the weekend. We are headed to Bryson City, NC to spend the weekend with the girls. We had to be downtown by 10:30 to sign the lease for our apartment. We completed that and then headed out of town. The drive to Bryson City is a beautiful drive. A nice double lane highway lined with trees. The road takes you in to the outskirts of the Smoky Mountain National Park. We stopped at a Farmer's Market. They had a BBQ shack. We bought some corn, tomatoes, onions, honey, some fresh apple fritters and 'soup starter'. We picked up a chicken and a pork sandwich to eat on the way. Very ... read more

We woke up about 8 am. Bella immediately went out to go to the creek. She had collected a few salamanders yesterday and had little habitats built for them. We had coffee, then cooked breakfast: eggs, bacon, toast, oj. Bella likes butter and honey on her toast, Lola likes jam on hers. After breakfast we took a walk to pay Miss Betty. She was busy with visitors so we told her we would come back later. Lola and I made crafts: multicolored pipe cleaners, puff balls, little eyes and glue. We had a fun time. Bella spent most of the time in the creek. Ken and her walked way down the creek and spoke to people on the shore along the way. Lola and I went to the playground. I tried to read while she played, ... read more

The past four days we have been overwhelmed with stunningly beautiful sights of fall leaves in full glowing color and I’m itching to share them. So I’m going to skip over a few blogs you’ll be getting letter -- a museum of antique brass trimmed cars outside Acadia Nat’l Park; a trolley ride in Steamtown, Stanton, PA; some new shots of Gettysburg; the Wright home Kentuck Knob outside Ohiopyle State Park, PA; the Green Bank National Radio Astronomy Observatory; and the recently restored lumber town of Cass, the last two both in West Virginia. In Cass we were at the very peak of the fall leaves. Since then there have been a couple of storms which have blown off a lot of the leaves, and we’re now considerably south of WV so the leaves haven’t reached ... read more

The story of Boldt Castle on Heart Island is intriguing - and sad. “George Boldt came to America in the 1860’s from Prussia, the son of poor parents. A man of tremendous organizational skill, daring and imagination, he became the most successful hotel magnate in America, managing /profit sharing the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and the Bellevue-Stratford in Philadelphia. . . . Boldt Castle stands as an eternal monument to the memory of the man whose dreams were no more far reaching than his capabilities.” George married Louise when she was 15 and she became a true partner in his business endeavors as well as his life. “Boldt Castle was to be the testimony of the unsurpassed love of a man for his wife.” But then she died of a heart attack just months before the ... read more

The objective today was to ride the Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. The line operates an excursion train through the mountains along the Nantahala River. To get to Bryson City, where we would board the train, we followed US 19 west from Asheville. This route took us through Maggie Valley, a center for winter sports, and then directly through the Cherokee Reservation. The highway through the reservation is mountainous, with roadside billboards whose messages about health care and other tribal concerns gives the visitor an insight into contemporary Cherokee life. A large casino greets visitors in Cherokee at the intersection of US 19 and 441 in the heart of the reservation. At Bryson City, North Carolina, we found the blue railway station and picked up our excursion tickets and lunch coupons. Presently, the train arrived and we ... read more